Tuesday, 16 May 2017

Yet another injury setback. Argentinian winger Erik Lamela has been out for far longer than he should have been with what was said to be a minor hip complaint last October keeping him out for the rest of the season. Now Danny Rose will miss the start of next season.

He was injured at the end of January and it was though he would be out a few weeks, then we were told he would likley return at the beginning of April, then that was delayed and now we hear he needs an operation which will disrupt his pre-season training.

One has to ask questions why seemingly minor injuries drag on. can the problems not be detected sooner? Did we choose the correct course of treatment or should be have looked at surgery sooner?

I am no doctor, I can't answer those questions but in an effort to improve every aspect of the club questions should be continually asked and improvements sought.

The club have just released a rather ineffectual update on Erik.At the time of his injury I did some research on hip injuries (one of the Anons, Totle, told me to do so) and an operation will always involve the addition of a prosthesis which, for us oldies, usually means a hip replacement.Probably in Erik's case an artificial surface has been added to aid the movement of the joint and to prevent further deterioration in the joint.It appears that research into hip surgery is focused on developing the longevity of the material used in the prosthesis.Now whether Erik's operation will allow him to return to what I would loosely term 'full football movement' and for how long remains to be seen.

Not a good sign for Lamela... surely the deterioration on the hip will curtail his movement... the kind of fast switching movements that define his game may be lost and never recovered... hip injuries are always troublesome and often chromic.